Though the Georgetown women’s basketball team (4-24, 2-14 Big East) has struggled throughout the season, it has been able to find success on its home court — all four of the team’s wins have taken place at McDonough Arena.

Tonight, the Hoyas will attempt to add a fifth victory to this category when they take on conference rival Creighton (16-11, 9-7 Big East) in their final home game of the season.

“It would be great to win this last home game,” junior forward Logan Battle said. “Creighton is going to be a hard game to play, but we know we can win.”

Georgetown faced off against Creighton on Dec. 30, but a slow start doomed the Hoyas in that first matchup with the Blue Jays. Creighton dominated early, starting the game with a 10-2 run and extending its lead to a double-digit margin with more than 10 minutes remaining in the first period.

The Blue Jays went into the locker room at halftime with a comfortable 15-point lead. Creighton was paced by junior guard Marissa Janning, who exploded for 16 points in the first half. Freshman guard Sydney Lamberty also chipped in 12 points for the Blue Jays in the opening 20 minutes of the game. At the close of the first half, the Hoyas did not have any players scoring in double digits.

Georgetown came out of the locker room firing. The Hoyas scored 10 unanswered points to open the second period, pulling within five points of Creighton. With 13:29 remaining in the game, Battle hit a jump shot to give Georgetown its first lead of the contest.

The Hoyas were able to extend that lead to three points, but were unable to maintain their edge.
“We didn’t have that focus down the stretch,” Head Coach Natasha Adair said. “We didn’t have the maturity to hold on to that lead and not panic.”

The Blue Jays went on 10-0 run, reclaiming their lead and extending it to 11 points with just over five minutes left in the contest. Creighton’s advantage did not dip below double-digits for the remainder of the game. When the final buzzer sounded, Georgetown trailed by 15 points.

Despite the loss, there were bright spots for the Hoyas on both the offensive and defensive end.

Georgetown’s defense did a far better job of handling Janning and Lamberty in the second half, holding them to five and seven points, respectively. The Hoyas will need to focus on containing Creighton’s scoring threats in order to come out of Friday’s game with a win.

“Janning is one of the top players in our league. She is a scorer,” Adair said. “For those types of players, we try to contain them, we try to make it hard for them. The focus is to make her earn it and limit the performances of the supporting cast. Defense is going to be big for us.”

Offensively, the Hoyas were led by Battle, who scored a team-high 14 points, 12 of which came in the more competitive second half. Freshman guard Dorothy Adomako added 13 points and junior guard Katie McCormick sank three three-pointers for Georgetown.

Freshman center Yazmine Belk also shined against Creighton. Belk finished the game with a double-double, scoring 10-points and pulling down a career-high 19 rebounds. Belk also had a game-high four blocks.

“[Yazmine Belk] was one of the bright spots,” Adair said. “I expect her to be a dominant force inside. We are challenging her to crash the boards and get second and third opportunities around the rim.”

The Hoyas will need a full team effort against Creighton to ensure that their last home game is a victory.

“We have to active on offense and defense,” Belk said. “Coach always wants us to hustle and to make that extra effort. That’s what we need to do.”

If the Hoyas can pull off a win on Friday, they will snap their current 12-game losing streak and will leave McDonough Arena on a high note as they hit the road for the final stretch of the season.

“The win would be awesome,” Adair said. “It would be awesome for our kids and for our morale. It would be a statement to our fans, who have been supportive all year, to show that we are still fighting.”

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.